Re: prozac, paxil, or zoloft for an adolecent?

mme-1: My heart goes out to you. My daughter was almost incapacitated by the sudden onset of OCD/depression at age 15. She was initially prescribed Prozac, which harmed more than helped, and then she was switched to Anafranil for 18 months, which was another disaster. She is now taking Zoloft (for the past 9 months) and calls it a "miracle drug."

In that all the drugs you mentioned are SSRI's, they are technically "the same" class-wise; however each has a different chemical makeup and only your daughter can tell you which, if any of them, works best for her. Perhaps your doctor chose Zoloft because his own patients' experiences led him to believe it may work best for young adults (as in my daughter's case.) That doesn't excuse him, however, from explaining to you why he chose one of three drugs that he claimed were "identical."

You didn't elaborate on why your daughter was hospitalized or why you feel her care has been horrible. My daughter's psychiatrist insisted on full blood tests and a brain MRI to rule out tumors, etc. before starting her on medication. Has this kind of testing been done on your daughter?

Post a bit more information and I know someone on this BB can offer you more advice/experience.

Judy

> My 14 year-old daughter is in treatment for depression. Without even examining her, the doctor asked me which of the medications she should take - this being a psychdoc on top of it all (bad insurance)! He told me zoloft was better for her, and although I asked him why he thought so, what were the advantages/ disadvantages of each, what were the adverse effects, or which one was easier to withdraw from, he told me they were all the same! Later, after I had signed the release to administer the zoloft (she's in the hospital), they called back and told me that they wanted to change her to paxil. I asked them why, and the answer was that it was cheaper. The doctor insisted that all three drugs had no differences whatsoever. Prozac was never mentioned again after the initial conversation...> > What do you all think of this? Please help me - this hospital has been sucking dry all my insurance money, and the care has been horrible...> > mme-l